Italian leaders exchange greetings with Pope

December 24, 2012 - The president and the former prime minister of Italy on Sunday called Pope Benedict XVI to wish him for Christmas and New Year. Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi said that Sunday evening, Mario Monti, who resigned as Prime Minister of Italy on 21 December, had a ‘particularly cordial’ conversation with the Pope on the telephone, to exchange Christmas and New Year greetings. Fr. Lombardi also said that earlier, president Giorgio Napolitano of Italy, also had a warm conversation on the phone with the Holy Father for the greetings of the season. The Pope resp9onded with expressions of cordial sharing and closeness with the Italian people.